receive therefor an
equivalent of such standard dollars in treasury notes of the same
form and description, and having the same legal qualities, as the
notes provided for by the act approved July 14, 1890, entitled,
'An act directing the purchase of silver bullion, and the issue of
treasury notes thereon, and for other purposes.' And all such
treasury notes issued under the provisions of this act shall be a
legal tender for their nominal amount in payment of all debts,
public and private, and shall be receivable for customs, taxes,
and all public dues, and when so received may be reissued in the
same manner, and to the same extent, as other treasury notes."

This being an amendment to an amendment, no further modification
or change could be made to the bill until it was disposed of. Mr.
Stewart made some remarks, and in conclusion said:

"I do not intend further to comment, at this time, on the amendment
to the bill which I have offered. If it shall be adopted, then
there are other portions of the bill which can be stricken out.
The amendment I have offered presents the question naked and simple.
Will you remonetize silver and place it back where it was before
it was excluded from the mints of the United States and Europe?"

I was taken by surprise at the sudden presentation of the question,
but promptly took the floor and said:

"The sudden and unexpected change of the scene, the introduction
of an entirely new topic into our debate, must not pass by without
the serious and sober attention of every Senator on the floor to
the revolutionary measure now proposed. I do not wish to, nor will
I, nor can I, regard this as a political question, because we know
that the local interests of a certain portion of our number--and
I do not object to Senators representing the interest of their
constituents--lead them to opinions different from the opinions of
Senators from the larger states containing the great mass of the
population of this country, not only in the north, but in the south;
and therefore, while the Republican party may be weakened by the
unexpected defection of a certain portion of our number who agree
with us in political opinions generally, yet that will not relieve
the minority in this body, our Democratic associates, from the
sober responsibility which they will assume in aiding in the adoption
of this measure. At the very outset of this discussion I appealed
to the sober judgment of Senators to consid